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Consumer Reports Puts Verizon in First Place, AT&T Bringing Up The Rear

The latest Consumer Reports are out and as far as mobile networks go, Verizon is rated in front of the rest of the pack. Verizon scored near the top for voice and data quality which is to be expected with Verizon’s mostly reliable network. The Reports also gave Verizon props “for support attributes like staff knowledge and resolution of issues.” Verizon didn’t win every category though.

Interestingly enough, AT&T was rated as having the best LTE network, with their customers reporting the least amount of problems. Other than that though, AT&T didn’t score well. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile all had low scores in text and voice quality, but AT&T was the unfortunate loser in this race.

From reading the comments that you guys post daily, things might be a little different in future Consumer Reports when other carriers catch up to Verizon in LTE coverage. Do you think they are the best out of the four wireless carriers?

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IPhone (doesn’t matter which one, 4 or 4S) on Virgin Mobile, which uses the Sprint network, is absolutely horrible… when it comes to surfing the web AWAY FROM HOME and using Siri AWAY FROM HOME. I’m in the car with my love and he’s using his iPhone 4 and the web is AMAZING (he’s on Sprint’s network THROUGH SPRINT). So, I guess Sprint is stifling Virgin Mobile users. Unbelievable. What a waste of money. As soon as possible, I’m out of VM and I’m NOT switching to Sprint.

MIke

Coverage is one area Sprint is in Fantasy land .if you look at Sprint’s coverage Map you would think it has at least 3G coverage in most markets which is false , if you click on the 3G & More ( you think more is more , not less ) you see the true coverage .IE the normal map shows 3G coverage in I79 from Erie Pa tp Pittsburgh . But in Reality 3G does not start until you get to I80 , 100 miles south. zoom in and see the real coverage or look at virgin mobile which only runs on the sprint network Seems Sprint has also lost it’s data roaming agreements too.

prestone1

love verizon service but the android updates(lack of) are super annoying.

cb2000a

The best deal I had in the last three years (been with Verizon, ATT, and T-Mobile) was a pre paid Samsung phone with wifi calling (T-Mobile). $50 a month and great reception just abut anywhere (and I mean traveling from Kansas through Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington).

Bionic

By far the best. I wish my bill wasn’t so high but you get what you pay for.

daryle barden jr

Most Verizon reps are idiots. I hate to call names but most only know how to sell a device and even then they’ve screwed up my transactions.

interstellarmind

Verizon is great for the masses. But for an “android enthusiast” such as myself, I have to side with tmobile (Google loves gsm right now)

nightscout13

You can keep your throttling “Unlimited” data plan. I have yet to be throttled on Verizon, and I use 10GB on average per month. (per line)

Dain Laguna

You only get throttled on prepaid plans. They do have throttle free unlimited plans. But that requires research before speaking

And 10 gigs of data per month on more than one line? Thats plain gratuitous.

nightscout13

Seems like YOU are the one that needs to do some research. Unlimited data is throttled after 2GB.http://bit.ly/WyNQcI

Austin

I worked at verizon for 4 years. Some reps in corp. stores are awesome (I was one of them). They know the technology and know whats best. Others I agree are morons.

http://twitter.com/jeffaye Jeff Ayers

Think of the audience reading consumer reports, then yes, you can understand why they are number 1

Brent Cooper

Verizon is reliable almost everywhere I go. Even when I am hiking a lot of the time. It may not be 4G but if i need to make an emergency call I can. As far as CS goes, ive been called a liar, gone through 11 droid replacements(obvious manufacture defect such as broken keyboard on D2) and once before getting a replacement nexus, the rep told me, you need to go to a local store “just so we can be sure the problem you claim to be having is actually real.” Some of the resps are great, but a lot of them treat me like I’m a liar and a thief.

http://profiles.google.com/adamtruelove Adam Truelove

Every experience I’ve ever had with Verizon tech support, especially the deeper level tech support, has been very good. They’re very friendly and try as best they can to help you out. One time I just told the guy I knew what I was talking about and no amount of troubleshooting or firmware resets was going to fix the issue so he just sent me a new phone.

The sales staff and general customer service reps, however, are not very knowledgeable for the most part.

socalrailroader

You mean the four biggest wireless carriers, you still have regional carriers, like U.S. Cellular (who always scores high on these surveys) and C-Spire, and a TON of local carriers.

http://twitter.com/Bl4ckpheniX aaron nyquist

T-mobile has some good things going for them. Mostly, cost, then I would say the fact that you can change out sim cards and phones without contacting anyone. They where first in customer service at one point. But that time has come and gone.

Zooby

I made the decision to leave VZW after 15 years and couldn’t be happier. 2-3 weeks until my Nexus 4 arrives and then it’s Buh Bye Verizon.

yodawwg

I hear this alot as a tech rep on the phones. “Ive been with you for 15 years”….when Verizon was founded in 2000. Hardly 15 years. Most customers like this just need to get over themselves.

Dain Laguna

He cold have been with alltel bruh. Maybe thats why you guys are sort of unhelpful? Dont know what or who you are dealing with?

lovehate

right i drive truck otr, but when i land a local job i wull switch to t mobil which works great in my town.n plus imo they have the best c.s

http://www.deathbycone.com Jared Kotoff

What else is knew? I’ve been quoting Consumer Reports like this back in 2008. VZ #1, AT&T still last.

J. Gilbertson

Reliable network? What? My DROID RAZR MAXX drops data all the time at my office. North Plano/Frisco (Stonebriar) area is spotty as heck. You would think the Dallas suburbs would be the strongest especially around all the corporate offices.

Good one Consumer Reports! You totally got me….wait why is nobody laughing?

Jim McClain

verizons staff knows very little, I’m not a genius , so when I call in and I know more than them, that’s bad,

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10602828 Mike Hilal

Verizon LTE was great when few were on it. Wait till ATT fills their network up and then ask the same questions over again.

Bionic

What in ATTs history makes you think they will be anywhere good.? They fuckngggg blow. My brother can’t get signal in San Diego for fuckk sake.

Michael33704

Verizon has been “bringing it up the rear” to it’s loyal customer base for years now. I wish there was a viable, stable alternative…..

Destroythanet

I’ve been on ATT, T-Mo, and Verizon, and agree with Consumer Report’s assessment completely.

Dr_Buttballs

Verizon is on top in support? Really? Where were these helpful support staff members every time I called? They’re lack of support and inability to get problems resolved is the reason I dumped my contract after the first two year contract.

Guest

Also reported is that the sky is blue and water is wet.

JoshGroff

The sky isn’t always blue, what now?!!!

Droidzilla

It’s different shades of blue, even at midnight.

JoshGroff

But clouds.

Diablo81588

No surprise there. I’m continually amazed at how reliable Verizon is anywhere I go. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

On a side note, waiting for yarrellray to come declare blasphemy and preach how T-Mobile should be number one.

delta504

AT&T LTE score is probably scewed due to the fake 4G everyone got with iPhone4S. “Oh look, after the upgrade i have 4g!!”

T4rd

Indeed. I like how AT&T boasts having “4G in 4000 more cities than Verizon” in their commercials. That’s pretty much pure false advertisement.

Diablo81588

Add to the fact that HSPA+ on ATT is slow as hell. Pure marketing scam..

Dr_Buttballs

Slow in regards to what exactly? I get 10 to 12 down on a normal basis and wouldn’t really consider that slow.

http://www.lovesicklives.com Curtis Fox

AT&T 4G HSPA+ is no where near that fast where I live. Here, the speeds are barely on par with Verizon’s 3G.

Diablo81588

Not where I live in the 4th largest city in the US. You’d be lucky to get 3mbps at any given time.

gp126904

I honestly dont know how AT&T gets away with that claim, it makes the iSheep look even worse when they say “BUT MY iPHONE 4S HAS 4G”!!!!!!

da.n

They get away with it because they are saying 4g, not 4gLTE.

Jeff Tycz

not really because they call HSPA+ 4G not just LTE. Now if the said they have 4G LTE in more cities than verizon then it would be

T4rd

Yes, that’s my point. Thanks for that, CPT Obvious =p.

Droidzilla

So, your point was that it’s false advertising because they claim that HSPA+ is 4G when you know that HSPA+ fits the new 4G definition, just like LTE? I don’t get it.

Dain Laguna

Haha crickets

zUFC

Best of the four by far!!!! The next one (AT&T in this case) doesn’t even come close to VZ. We make fun of them and we hate them but I admit, nothing can touch VZ. Come on new Google service. Please be good.
P.S. I highly doubt that AT&T best network thing. Thats from all the i-junk lovers answering the pole. They don’t know how to us a phone(or a real phone I should say) so how in the hell are they going to know if a network is good or not. I-sheep kill me.

dangolds

Way to be biased and ignorant. I have LTE devices from both AT&T and Verizon. The data speeds on AT&T’s LTE network are consistently faster than Verizon’s in my area, likely due to the relative lack of congestion on AT&T’s network. You toss around the I-sheep insult, yet come across as the very essence of a blind sheep for both Verizon and Android in the process. Pot, meet kettle.

HTC1

Truth hurts, don’t it dangolds. AT&T sucks dude. You HAVE both whcih means your ignorant. I HAD which means I realized how bad it sucked instantly. And he’s right about the I-sheep(you must have one of those also)

radiohead14

they really need to change/update that ugly logo tho. that check mark is really turdrrific

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1376460282 Chris Fried

Switched from Verizon to T- Mobile a few days ago…. The service, call quality and data speeds have all been awesome. Just saying

Mike

I tried the same thing two years ago in San Jose, CA, a city of a million people. It was horrendous. I tried one of their call over “wifi phones” so that I could be sure that I had signal at my work and home. Without the “wifi calling” activated, I had infuriatingly pathetic coverage for voice and data (spotty coverage makes it sound better than it was). With the “wifi calling” feature activated, it was only a bit better. I couldn’t transition from network to wifi or wifi to network, and it required that you stay in the range of the specific work wifi box that you had connected the call with. It’s great that you had good coverage, but that is more the exeption than the rule. I’ve been with all 4 wireless carriers, and the best is Verizon. You pay more, but you get more too.

Suralin

They are the best out of the carriers in terms of coverage. But all of us are not happy with the price gouging and many of us are clinging to unlimited data plans. And there are many of us who dislike Verizon’s stranglehold of phone manufacturers and their products when it comes to the customization of devices.

Zooby

Yep, you nailed it!

Droidzilla

Even though you were a total jerk to Frodo, I approve of this post.

Booked

that almost made sense.

http://twitter.com/CrayzeeJoe Joe Wright

WORD!

geo

Because all these mofus clogged the network now LTE in my area is getting bottleneck speeds

nex__

I think it might be that ATT’s LTE network is new and not alot of devices on it. i remeber when i first got the Thunderbolt, and the speed was smoking. Then more LTE devices came out and your speeds natural become slower. Still fast but not as fast as it use to be.

Greg Morgan

Reports also gave Verizon props “for support attributes like staff knowledge and resolution of issues.”…LOL What?!

Nex__

LOL that’s what i was thinking, their reps are morons

gp126904

Every reps answer to a tech issue is to reset the phone. Major props for that protip verizon!

JoshGroff

Pro tip, a battery reset fixes most problems.

Sparxx2k7

Not the ones on the phones – the ones in brick & mortar stores MOST DEF! The techs and support staff on the phones are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more knowledgeable and can help you better than face to face

Raven

I know many people have had many bad experiences. I always go to my local corporate store and have never had one. The last time was to activate my Droid 4 that I bought from a 3rd party to replace my Droid 2. The guy that helped me was very knowledgeable, recognized that my phone already had SafeStrap on it and was rooted and didn’t care or say anything negative about rooting and we BSed about various technical things while we were waiting for it to be activated. So, there definitely are some good ones out there, just maybe few and far between.

quiklives

Think of it this way: if you can’t even count, then you’re impressed by someone who knows that 1+1=2. If you’re passing high school math, you’re annoyed by someone who can manage 1+1=2 but gets stuck at 2+2=?. The average customer can’t count. The reps can’t add two and two. We are at least passing high school math. Devs are mathematicians.

Greg Morgan

That’s very true and I take that into consideration. But I saw someone the other day on my twitter feed went in to a VZW Store and asked to see the DNA. The rep had no clue what he was asking for. Didn’t know it existed. I’ve gone in and asked to look at the 4g phones when 4g just came out. They showed the TBolt. I asked about the Revolution, the guy told me it wasn’t a 4g phone. LOL!

http://www.lovesicklives.com Curtis Fox

I went in the other day to look at the DNA, and mentioned that my only real reservation was Sense… and he looked at me with this befuddled look and asked, “What’s that?” I tried to explain to him that it’s HTC’s skin on Android, like TouchWiz on Samsung phones… the look remained plastered on his face and I just about walked out of the store right there. Thankfully he didn’t hover too long and I could just look for myself… It’s extremely frustrating how clueless they can be – know your product! I feel terrible for the demographic that these reps must sell to in order to maintain their jobs….

MikeKorby

The other day I was at a Verizon store where I ran into a fellow user. He was having issues with his calendar syncing to his device. He had three reps try and help him out for five minutes. I picked up the phone and resolved his issue in a record… 8 seconds.

Yasin

I was in the store a while back and someone was asking between the original droid RAZR MAXX and the Galaxy s3. THe customer asked him about the screen difference between the 2 he said oh no they have the same exact screen. They are both HD 1080P

jldleo

Staff knowledge is a complete joke and I lay blame completely on Verizon. Went in to purchase the Galaxy Note 2 and the rep was absolutely clueless about its capabilities. The biggest problem with that is that they didn’t even get to touch the phone until last night for the first time. How does Verizon expect their reps to be familiar with the product if they don’t get “hands on” prior to selling the device?

CapnShiner

They are probably just trying to keep new devices a secret until they officially announce them, as if that ever works.

JasonS

It’s not that their customer service is that good. It’s more like everyone else is even worse than them.

michael arazan

CR said they “polled” 60’000 customers for these results. I wonder what is the basis to be picked. Because the only thing Verizon has in their network and that’s it, they lack and are equally as bad as ATT on all other fronts.

http://twitter.com/jdk2 jdk2

VZW may be first in Customer Service but last in Customer Satisfaction.

chris125

Pretty sure most people are satisfied or they wouldn’t be with verizon

http://twitter.com/jdk2 jdk2

Where are they going to go? ATT=dropped calls. Sprint=Horrible coverage. TMO=Same as Sprint. VZW happens to be the lesser of evils here. Doesn’t mean they’re satisfied.

Dain Laguna

Or stuck in a contract?

EvanTheGamer

GOOD! F AT&T!

http://profiles.google.com/thelolotov Jacob Davis

It’s not so much that I don’t have many complaints with Verizon, as it is that I just know not to bother complaining, because nobody will listen.

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